Tag: Hobby

  • Check out my OLDHAMMER Wood Elf Army so far (It’s so beautiful TT_TT)

    Check out my OLDHAMMER Wood Elf Army so far (It’s so beautiful TT_TT)

    Hey folks, as you will probably know I’ve been building an oldhammer Wood Elf army for the last couple of years! Thanks to some canny eBay bidding, some lucky finds and some incredibly kind and generous folks on Twitter I’ve been able to amass the Wood Elf army of my childhood dreams.

    It started out with a focus on the 1996 release for Warhammer 4th edition (soon to be replaced by the exciting new 5th edition), but has since introduced models from the 80s, 2000s and today (to quote my local radio station!)

    So this here blog post is to show you *everything* I’ve painted so far for this army. Now, I’ve still got a heck of a lot of unpainted and unassembled stuff in a big box of lovely metal yet to add, but I think this is already a gallery to be proud of. So grab a cup of tea and some hobnobs, and enjoy…

    Boys from the Wood

    Here you can see the core infantry units in the army. With two full units of 16 archers, 10 Waywatchers, 12 Scouts, 14 Wardancers and 25 Glade Guard (aka Eternal Guard) consisting of 15 of the 90s shield versions and 10 of the 80s models. The Wardancer unit includes the Warhammer Quest wardancer character, who can be played as Wychwethyl The Wild in the 4th edition army book.

    Bark as bad as their bite

    The forest spirits have gotten in on the action too, here you can see my unit of Dryads as well as two classic Treemen, one of which is the original Durthu!

    You can be my Oak of Ages

    Here’s Orion, King in the Woods and his lovely lady, Ariel. This is Ariel before she (re)merged with Alarielle during the End Times of the Old World! I based her colour scheme on that of her appearance in Total War: Warhammer 2.

    Wood you please behave

    Here’s the lesser characters and heroes of the army, who serve underneath Orion and Ariel. This is where some of the more recent models come into play, such as the 2005 Battle Standard Bearer and Spellweaver, and the much more recent Araloth, more commonly known as the Nomad Prince kit. You can also see the custom BSB I made from the plastic Wood Elf hero from Warhammer Quest, based directly on the one seen in the army book and White Dwarf of the era.

    Horsing Around

    My army currently includes two units of Glade Riders, one of which is armed with spears and the other is a unit of archers. I found the archer models much harder to find than the spear ones, probably because the spear chaps used to come in a box set whereas the archers were only available in blister packs. I also love the Elven Attack Chariot, which is one of those fabled kits I always wanted as a child but was never able to obtain. I’m super pleased with how it looks with the rest of the army.

    What a drag-on

    Here’s my centrepiece model, my pride and joy. The Wood Elf Forest Dragon. This is the original version that was used as the base for the later Sisters of Twilight kit. I really tried to capture the colours of the original ‘Eavy Metal scheme with this and it even uses the original banner. I’m absolutely delighted to have this model standing front and centre in the army in my cabinet. Truly one of my all-time favourite Warhammer miniatures!

    This miniature even inspired how I painted the recent Stormcast Eternals dragon that the good folks at Warhammer Community kindly let me paint for an article:

    And, for now at least, that’s the whole of my Wood Elf army. Although it’s certainly not the end of it! Stay tuned to the blog and my social media channels for more classic Oldhammer goodness in the near future! Thanks for reading!

    If you enjoyed this article and want to help support PaintSlam, please consider joining the Patreon! Your support helps me keep the lights on and keep producing content like this!

  • Jess’s Quick Tips! How to make your eyes happy.

    Jess’s Quick Tips! How to make your eyes happy.

    I’m sure I’m not alone in having picked up a model to paint, primed it, then sat there looking at it thinking “Where do I even start? What is that detail there? I can’t quite see what it is…”

    If your eyesight and brain are anything like mine, you’ll sometimes be intimidated by odd shapes and bits on a model your eyes can’t quite “read” which makes it hard to get started. Or perhaps due to the lighting in your room or the colour/finish of the primer it’s all just a bit hard for your eyes to make out without straining them.

    So here’s my little tip! Now, this obviously will work best on a lighter undercoat (in this case I’ve used Grey Seer but anything lighter than a mid-grey will also work for this) but what I like to do is pick a wash or contrast shade and apply it all over the model as a first step, as you can see here:

    This is a model from Vae Victis Miniatures, and after priming it Grey Seer (the end of a can, hence it being a slightly rough prime) I washed over the whole model with Citadel Contrast Gryph-Charger Grey. Other good colours to use for this are washes such as Seraphim Sepia or Reikland Fleshshade.

    This highlights all the raised areas and definies all the details nicely without creating a super thick layer of paint that fills in any detail. Plus if you use a shade that you intend to use on the model anyway, it can help speed up the process overall. I used this grey/blue tone because I’ll be using Black Templar on some areas, and the blue will slightly tint the areas that don’t end up pure black and add some colour to an otherwise greyscale area.

    Now I can see what all the details on the model are, and avoid hurting my eyes trying to see what I’m looking at.

    Give it a go and see if it helps you if you’re not feeling confident when starting a new miniature!

    If you enjoyed this article and want to help support PaintSlam, please consider joining the Patreon! Your support helps me keep the lights on and keep producing content like this!

  • MAY (And April) #PAINTSLAM22 Community Showcase!

    MAY (And April) #PAINTSLAM22 Community Showcase!

    First up, please allow me to apologise for not getting a community showcase post up over the last couple of months. For one reason or another I’ve struggled to get into the right headspace to sit down and compile things, which I am very sorry for. On the plus side, this post compiles your wonderful hobby from both May and April in the Community Showcase channel from the official PaintSlam Discord server! So grab a Cornetto, put on some summer beats and enjoy the lovely miniatures below!

    Plus! If you’ve never shared in the Community Showcase before, you’re always welcome to come and do so, just click here to join our friendly and welcoming discord server!

    Ads20000

    Amy_Jade

    Ceda_Kuru_Qan

    CritonyEntertainment

    Dad_Mech_Hobbies

    ElDavePhoto

    fin37

    Galaspar

    GardenGoth

    HaleysRedComet

    Hatmadder

    Heavy Metal Wars

    Jack

    JewelKnightJess

    Jim1810

    Momma Negan

    opaqueshadow

    Pandaemonium_Miniatures

    PaulGillings

    Sheroqueer

    Sippster

    SQUAREWAVE

    theelusiveshaun

    ThePaintingPirate

    Thokamous

    Torrentstride

    Vargna

    If you enjoyed this article and want to help support PaintSlam, please consider joining the Patreon! Your support helps me keep the lights on and keep producing content like this!

  • FEBRUARY #PaintSlam22 Community Showcase!

    FEBRUARY #PaintSlam22 Community Showcase!

    Oh man, sorry it’s taken me so long once again to get this article put together. 2022 is a hell of a thing. Well, it’s time to look at what AWESOME hobby the PaintSlam community got up to during the month of February. Let’s dig in and enjoy the amazing miniatures!!

    AMY_JADE

    BIGGEORDIEGGEEK

    BRIN

    CALLIE

    CEDA_KURU_QAN

    COMMISSAR LEWDFANG

    CRITONYENTERTAINMENT

    CRYSTALMCDOLL

    DAD_MECH_HOBBIES

    DARKHANON

    ECZEMABEARD

    FIN37

    FUNNYBONES

    GARDENGOTH

    HALEYS RED COMET

    HATMADDER

    HEAVY METAL WARS

    HOUSEFIREHAWK

    JACK

    JB

    JEDI58

    JEWELKNIGHTJESS

    LADY B MINIATURES

    MOMMA NEGAN

    OPAQUESHADOW

    PANDAEMONIUM_MINIATURES

    PAUL GILLINGS

    PSIPPITT

    PYRO

    SHEROQUEER

    THEELUSIVESHAUN

    THEPOSHGOBLIN

    THOKAMOUS

    TORRENTSTRIDE

    If you enjoyed this article and want to help support PaintSlam, please consider joining the Patreon! Your support helps me keep the lights on and keep producing content like this!

  • Adoration for the spectacular square bases of nostalgia.

    Adoration for the spectacular square bases of nostalgia.

    The humble square base!

    Once a staple on Warhammer battlefields the world over, it is perhaps somewhat rarely seen today. At least, outside of specific Oldhammer projects.

    See how it ranks up neatly, even when the model atop it doesn’t wish to. A closely ranked up unit looks wonderful, yet who can forget the hassle of juggling your models around to actually get them to rank up properly? It was like a jigsaw puzzle every time you wanted to set your unit up on the table!

    Rejoice in how it sits flat on the battlefield, except when the model is metal and slightly off-centre so it tips over at a gnat’s sneeze. I sure hope you’ve varnished your pewter and lead warriors, unless you’re going for the Terminator look.

    The smooth, flat edges juxtaposed against the rough, nobbly top surface. Run your fingers along the length of those edges. Mmmm, smooth. Now run your nail over the top. Mmmmm…. texture…

    How lovely your old school models look all grouped together, despite completely disregarding the 6-foot rule.

    You grab your PVA glue and some sand, or if you’re particularly posh some green flock. You apply it to the top of the base (not the sides though, you’re not a MONSTER) and paint the whole thing Goblin Green. A quick drybrush with some Sunburst Yellow and you’re good to go! Don’t they look smashing.

    Then sit and admire your army, resplendent atop your bright green battlefield surrounded by lush forests, oddly stepped hills and suspiciously cardboard-looking buildings.

    Yes, truly the square base is a thing that brings joy.

    Have you painted something on a square base lately? Let us know by showing us in the PaintSlam Discord!

  • December #PaintSlam21 Community Showcase… Finishing Strong!

    December #PaintSlam21 Community Showcase… Finishing Strong!

    All the hobby thats fit to make you say “whoa”

    It’s the start of a new year, January is well underway and the official PaintSlam21 End of Year Showcase is done and dusted… but we’re not finished with ’21 until we’ve done the official December showcase. So here we are, the final month of 2021 in blog post form! Submissions as always taken from the PaintSlam Discord’s Community Showcase Channel – get in there if you want to join in ready for the first showcase of ’22!

    I can’t wait to see you all for #PaintSlam22!!

    Belzébée

    I love all of these! The sisters in particular look amazing, and I’m naturally very much in favour of the trans-tastic standard!

    CritonyEntertainment

    CritonyEntertainment brings us the usual amazing assortment of Power Rangers themed miniatures! Plus a few heroes from the multiverse!

    DarkHanon

    Black Templars from DarkHanon. The strong red contrasts really well against the black and white.

    fin37

    I love these admech robots. They’re so chunky and retro looking!

    gardengoth

    Gorgeous work from gardengoth. The dreadnought looks so GOOD!

    Heavy Metal Wars

    Retro nids! I love these so much!

    JewelKnightJess

    From myself this month comes a Genestealer Cult biophagus, the Bristol Crew inspired by The Young Ones TV show and an awesome werewolf miniature from Anvil Industry.

    Mommy Negan

    A star wars bounty hunter and snake charmer from the always fantastic Momma Negan.

    Pandaemonium_Miniatures

    Some wildlife here from Paul, I love the realistic fur tones.

    R35T

    Check out this awesome Death Guard leader, out to reap some fresh fertiliser for Nurgle’s gardens.

    Theelusiveshaun

    Some awesome Necromunda beasties here including the adorable Esher “kitty cats”.

    Thokamous

    Great work from Thokamous as always here, including a couple of nice marine boys.

    Torrentstride

    What can I say about this awesome Ghost Rider? It’s too cool!